Give your brain a workout: 5 exercises to strengthen your brain (without breaking a sweat!)
Most of us have accepted that for optimal health, our body requires exercise of some kind…and in order to stay motivated to actually do it consistently, that exercise should be something we enjoy.
But what about our mental health? It turns out that our brains need to be exercised regularly as well. So why not make it fun?
Top 5 fun brain games
Today, I am sharing with you my top five brain games, listed in alphabetical order (not in order of preference).
- Connections is a category-matching puzzle published daily by The New York Times. The goal is to divide 16 terms into four groups (e.g., dog, cat, fish, and parrot for the category “Household Pets”). The categories may involve wordplay such as palindromes or homophones, increasing the difficulty. Speaking of difficulty, each game has one category from each level: yellow, green, blue, and purple, with yellow being the most straightforward and purple being the most difficult.
- Crossword puzzles are a classic brain game, relying on language skills and memory from many areas of knowledge. There are multiple ways to do crossword puzzles, both online and off. The AARP website offers a daily crossword that’s free to everyone, whether or not you’re a member.
- Lumosity is one of the most well-established brain training and mental fitness programs. It offers a fresh set of games each day targeting memory, processing speed, and problem solving. You can sign up for a free account to play three games per day, or choose the subscription service for more offerings. (I have only tried the free version.)
- Sudoku is a logic-based number puzzle where the goal is to fill a 9×9 grid with numbers 1 through 9, ensuring each number appears only once in each row, column, and 3×3 subgrid. You can play Sudoku online, on an app, or on paper.
- Wordle is another puzzle published daily by The New York Times. Players have six attempts to guess a five-letter word, receiving feedback through colored tiles that indicate correct letters and their placement.
Your turn
- Do you have a favorite brain game or exercise to share with us?
- Do you have any other recommendations for brain health?
- What else is on your mind? Anything at all; I just love to hear from you.
Image created using ChatGPT.
Hi Christie – I love brain games. My husband and I do the Wordle and Connections every day and send each other our scores using a gif as our evaluation of how we did. I’m also a lover of cryptic crosswords and a medium level sudoku. It’s nice to think that fun things are also helping keep our brains healthy.
That’s fun that you and your husband compare Wordle and Connections scores daily. I also play Wordle, Connections, and one Sudoku each day. I look forward to doing it…like you said fun and helpful. Win-win! Crossword puzzles and Lumosity are more sporadic for me, but still fun.
I am using games like scrabble and mahjong along with a couple of others to help soothe my mind and body.
I have needed to take my mind OFF some of my thoughts around my emotional exhaustion and it’s a lovely way to take a mental break.
I have used a few brain training type apps over the years and competitive me finds them a drain and a challenge!!
Take care
Denyse x
I used to love Scrabble, Denyse, and I’ve been curious about Mahjong, but have never tried it. It’s good that you know yourself well enough to know that brain-training apps are not for you. I definitely think exercising our minds should be enjoyable.
Hi Christie, I’m a huge fan of online crosswords which I do regularly. Sometimes my brain has to work harder than at other times. The word is there but I can’t bring it to the forefront. Eventually it comes. I’ve not tried Sudoko but my grandsons play this which makes me feel inadequate as I can’t seem to get the hang of it. Thanks for sharing. #TeamWWWhimsy
Crossword puzzles are a relatively new thing for me, Sue, but I do enjoy it. I have been doing Sudoku for a while now…but always with pencil and paper. I need to be able to erase if I make a mistake, and sometimes if it gets too challenging, I’ll write down all the possibilities within a square until I can narrow it down to the correct one…thus the eraser comes in handy.
Hi Christie, I am a huge fan of word games and in fact have been playing them for decades. I play Words for Friends on my phone daily and have for a long time. I enjoy Wordle and Quordle and I love Sudoka (numbers rather than words). Hopefully my love of these games is helping my brain! Thanks for linking up with #WWWhimsy ! xo
That’s great, Min. I haven’t tried Quordle, but if I find the need to expand my options or retire some of my current games, I will definitely check into it. No doubt your years of experience playing these types of games has strengthened your brain.
I played Wordle for a while, but I got bored with it. I wanted more than just one word a day! I play a lot of mahjong and strategize how to win. I like strategy games more than word games. I’m not sure if that’s exercising my brain well enough or not. Thanks for the list, Christie!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
That’s funny, Marsha, the reason I like Wordle is it is just one word a day. And if a game requires too much strategy, I get frustrated and don’t enjoy it. I may be the one who is not exercising her brain enough! But as long as we are each doing what we enjoy, I’m sure the health benefits are there as well.
I do the following: The Guardian’s Wordiply; NYT Connections, Wordle, & Strands; Merriam-Webster Blossom; and for the win… Antiwordle. I tried to like Lumosity but couldn’t.
I have not heard of The Guardian’s Wordiply or Antiwordle, Ally, but I just read up on them. If I get the urge to expand my selection of brain games, I’ll give one or both a go. They sound interesting and challenging. I’m hot and cold with Lumosity. I’ll play the three free games for days in a row and then nothing for a period. I’m not sure why that is.
I love word searches and games like wordle too. I still play words with Friends online with my mom and mother in law each day. I’ve only recently started enjoying crossword puzzles too; in fact my youngest son and I were helping my mom with her puzzle today. I’m always so tempted to look up the answers on Google though if it’s something easily searched like the rest of a title or saying or a specific name.
I love that you play Words with Friends with you mother and MIL, Joanne. Crossword puzzles are relatively new for me too. I go as far as I can without looking anything up. Then if I am good and stuck, I allow myself to Google or ask others. If the puzzle still isn’t complete, I use the hints on the online version I’m using. You can ask it to check the answers you’ve already entered, give you one letter of your choosing, or one complete word of your choosing.
Hi Christie, my husband loves playing all the games you mentioned. I sometimes dabble in them but not everyday. He was a maths teacher so loves a puzzle of any kind!
#Teamwwwhimsy
I can see how these types of puzzles would be attractive to a maths teacher. I’m not great at math, but I love words.
I do crossword puzzles (but often cheat 🤫) and jigsaw puzzles for my brain. I should add some fun and different games into the mix.
As you know, I love jigsaw puzzles too. Doing crossword puzzles is relatively new for me. I go as far as I can on my own and then I allow myself to look things up or use the check a letter or word feature on the AARP online puzzle.
Hi Christie, I play Mahjongg twice a week. It’s a game of strategy and concentration, and I love that it serves as a valuable social connection.
Sounds perfect, Suzanne. That’s great that you combine brain work with social connection, which you probably know, is also good for your brain.
I think I tried Lumosity on a trial basis for a while. Thanks for reminding me. Might be time to sign up again. We do Wordle and I do Connections every day. I like the mini-crossword, too, and the Tiles, where you match similar tiles. I also do Duolingo for Spanish every day. But I still feel like I am slipping some!! Need to keep after it and add some new things to try now and then. Even driving a different way to Walmart, taking a walk in an different neighborhood or walking around our park in a different direction. We have to keep shaking things up!!
It sounds like you are exercising your brain in a variety of ways, Leslie. And thanks for reminding me that trying new things or new ways of doing familiar tasks is another great way to keep your brain active.